Fried Mac and Cheese Balls
A comfort classic that everyone will be fighting for! Crisp on the outside yet so soft, creamy and cheesy on the inside. YESSS!
Guys. I’m alive.
After 3 days and 2 nights in Death Valley, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it.
But I did.
I won’t get into the details of the sand storm and the 18 degree cold we were sleeping in, BUT!
I will get into this.
Fried mac and cheese balls.
Great for Thanksgiving leftovers.
Or for Game Day.
Works great on either occasions.
Or both.
That way you have a convenient excuse to make this more than once a year.
Fried Mac and Cheese Balls
A comfort classic that everyone will be fighting for! Crisp on the outside yet so soft, creamy and cheesy on the inside. YESSS!
Ingredients
- 3 cups macaroni and cheese, homemade or store-bought
- 2 cups vegetable oil, or more, as needed
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 ½ cups Panko
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Place macaroni and cheese into the refrigerator until firm, about 3-4 hours.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Using a small cookie scoop, roll macaroni and cheese into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch balls, forming about 12.
- Working one at a time, dip balls into eggs, then dredge in Panko, pressing to coat.
- Working in batches, add balls to the Dutch oven and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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My husband LOVES this fried mac cheese balls. Even I enjoy it, and I am not a big fan of cheese.
Wow! This is fantastic. I bet they would be scrumptious fried mac cheese balls amazing for kids. Will definitely try them for my son.
Had leftover mac & cheese that we wanted to repurpose for a repeat dinner party. My mac & cheese had dried up a bit in the fridge, so I melted some fresh Velveeta and mixed it in (I also mixed in some bacon bits, because… why not?!). Returned to the fridge for about 4 hours. I used an ice-cream scoop to dole out the portions. I drizzled the beaten egg over the ball (instead of dipping) and then coated it by hand. Sprinkled the panko and pressed it by hand. The balls held together quite well. They were about 3 inches in diameter. I made a dozen and placed them on a cookie sheet in the fridge until ready to fry (fried them in vegetable oil @ 375F after frying some red snapper). They looked & tasted great. I excluded the chives because my original audience was supposed to be 5 & 6 year old kids, but the adults ended up eating most of them. Might include some ranch for dipping if I make them again.
Not sure I did this right but I was hoping to tell you how much we loved this recipe. We would like to be included in the drawing for you and Butters new cookbook give-a-way. Either way, if I did this wrong, we will continue to enjoy these tasty little devils.
GARBAGE….sure, there are 100 comments saying they LOOK GOOD…but try making them!
First, you will never form the mac and cheese into a ball! Impossible!
Second, once you dip in egg, the moisture from egg will make mac and cheese fall apart.
SERIOUSLY Flawed recipe! DO NOT ATTEMPT, unless you enjoy throwing 2 eggs, panko crumbs and a bowl of cold mac and cheese in the garbage.
Waste of time and money.
I had the same experience, so I ended up just adding the eggs and some fish fry coating to the mac and cheese as if they were hush puppies…. I got them a consistency where I could form them into a ball and fried them. I should also note that I added some shredded cheese to the mix also.
Hi all, follow the recipe, shape into balls that fall apart and put the balls into mini cup cake tins . As someone here said and put in air fryer at 400 for a few minutes.perfect
I finally got to make this fried mac cheese balls this past weekend and it was such a hit!!
I can’t get my Mac and cheese to form into balls. Ive had it in the refrigerator for over the allowed time and it falls apart…it won’t stick together therefore I can’t get any further in the process…please help
You can try to freeze them for 15-30 minutes.
lol. Can’t stop laughing at these comments. I also couldn’t keep the balls together, so I got out the mini muffin tins , greased them in a little butter and put the balls in the air fryer. I have the air fryer that looks like an oven with 3 drawers. Turned out perfect…..
Amazing fried mac cheese balls. They looked soooo good, I had to try and make them. I used your suggestion and used 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives.
MAC AND CHEESE NEEDS TO SIT OVERNIGHT – NOT 3-4 HOURS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO STICK
I am DEFINITELY going to make these for my 6 year olds birthday party! Kids and adults will devour them!
What are your thoughts on me making them a few hours in advance, morning of, and warming them in the oven?
That’s a great idea!
I was driving home last night thinking to myself how I could really go for some mac n cheese balls. What a surprise when your recipe is the first on the search list!!
Big thumbs up! It’s a really good one, quite really soft and crispy. As always keep up the amazing work!
Dang they look tasty!! I have had arancini but never mac and cheese balls. Really want to try them (:
These look delicious!!
Hint #1.. After you form into a ball, place on parchment paper and put in the freezer for about an hour. It makes it much easier to stay formed while you dip it in the egg wash.
Hint #2… Put gingerbread cookies in the blender to make Gingerbread crumbs and use in the place of panko for a sure fire hit with everyone!!
Screaming this recipe from the mountain tops!!! Everyone needs these in their lives!
You are killing me. These look incredible. OMG.
I’m trying this right now, but I’m having a hard time keeping them formed into a ball.
I’m so sad. I tried this recipe today using Annie’s Organic mac & cheese. Since it was store bought mac & cheese, I thought it would work just fine. Even after I cooled the mac & cheese in the fridge for 4 hours, it wouldn’t stick together in order for me to bread them and fry them. I was really looking forward to eating these. 🙁
After having the same issue as you, I Was Able To Just Get Some Egg on it little crumb as squeeze the egg and bread crumb and Mac together to form a ball. I’m thinking that if the mac isn’t super cheesy it’s tough to get it in a ball. I was able to then swirl the mac balls in the egg and then back in the bread crumbs. I would bet that flour first would be better since this will keep the cheese from oozing out of the balls when cooking them.
I agree
These look delicious!!
These look so good!